The atmosphere in North Korea appears to be quite strained due to the rising tensions over its nuclear development programs and threatened resumption of missile testing. Through radio on January 4, Pyongyang is known to have issued an order placing the armed forces and militia under "semi-war status," and instructed the general public to stay where they live on January 11.

"Under a semi-war status, North Koreans are banned from leaving their villages and workplaces except when they attend the funerals or weddings of their families, relatives and friends," said a North Korean who managed to cross the border to China on January 13. "The people's army and the guidance troops (comprised of veterans and college students) have been alerted for an emergency." "The best policy under a semi-war status is to comply with official instructions, otherwise you may end up in trouble," he added.

Prompted by the tensions, North Koreans are said to be hoarding American dollars. Reportedly underlying the rampant dollar hoarding is a perception among the people, who have previously undergone extreme difficulties during the food crises, that "Nothing is trustable other than the greenbacks."

"North Koreans, senior officials and ordinary citizens alike, are absorbed in collecting US dollars lately," said a Korean-Chinese, a trader with the North. "The local currency is deemed useless under emergencies, and they exchange it into dollars whenever they get hold of some extra money." The citizens are impervious to the authorities' recent switch into the euro from the greenback as the official settlement currency. "Even if a regime is changed, the dollars sustain their values" is a common perception among the North Koreans, according to the source.

One of the biggest difficulties the citizens encounter in winter is securing firewood or coal for cooking and heating. Despite anticipation that the current winter will find many deaths from freezing due to the deteriorated situation, few have died from freezing so far, remarked a North Korean who fled the North a few days ago. Although thermal power plants like Chongjin Thermal Plant in North Hamgyong Province have long suspended power generation due to a lack of fuel oil, no smoke has ceased spurting from household chimneys, said the North Korean escapee. He said coal supply was rather plentiful thanks to the coal mines bent on earning profits by supplying coal to the citizens, rather than meeting a production target set by the state.

Asked about the concern that many people might starve to death due to the poor harvests last year and dwindling foreign food aid, the North Korean replied, "Nobody has starved to death as yet because the harvests were made only a short while ago, and thanks to household stocks. But the situation may differ in spring." Suspended food relief from overseas deals a major blow to the military, the police and intelligence agencies first and, after a while, then impacts on the marketplaces and the general public through spiraled rice prices, explained the North Korean. (Kang Chol-hwan, nkch@chosun.com )